The State of Iowa has filed an application for a civil injunction against Xcentric Ventures LLC, which operates the website Ripoff Report. The State alleges that Ripoff Report has published harassing and defamatory complaints about witnesses in the criminal case State v. Richter. The complaints falsely accuse witnesses of crimes and were published to intimidate them for their testimony and participation in the case. The court has scheduled a hearing on the State's application.
Original Description:
Original Title
Application for Injunction Entered Against AZ Company
The State of Iowa has filed an application for a civil injunction against Xcentric Ventures LLC, which operates the website Ripoff Report. The State alleges that Ripoff Report has published harassing and defamatory complaints about witnesses in the criminal case State v. Richter. The complaints falsely accuse witnesses of crimes and were published to intimidate them for their testimony and participation in the case. The court has scheduled a hearing on the State's application.
The State of Iowa has filed an application for a civil injunction against Xcentric Ventures LLC, which operates the website Ripoff Report. The State alleges that Ripoff Report has published harassing and defamatory complaints about witnesses in the criminal case State v. Richter. The complaints falsely accuse witnesses of crimes and were published to intimidate them for their testimony and participation in the case. The court has scheduled a hearing on the State's application.
STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff, v. XCENTRIC VENTURES LLC. (DBA WWW.RIPOFFREPORT.COM), Defendant.
APPLICATION FOR A CIVIL INJUNCTION TO RESTRAIN HARASSMENT OR INTIMIDATION OF VICTIMS OR WITNESSES (IOWA CODE 915.22) COMES NOW, the State of Iowa through Sac County Attorney Ben Smith and states the following in support of its civil injunction to restrain the harassment and intimidation of witnesses to a criminal case: 1. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction to enter a civil injunction to restrain the harassment and intimidation of witnesses to a criminal case when a preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that harassment or intimidation of an identified victim or witnesses in a criminal case exists or that the order is necessary to prevent and restrain an offense under Iowa Code Chapter 915, which is commonly referred to as the Victim Protection Act. IOWA CODE 915.22(2) (2014) 2. Defendant Xcentric Ventures is an Arizona-based company (dba www.ripoffreport.com), which is incorporated in the State of Arizona. The www.ripoffreport.com (Ripoff Report) is a purported consumer advocacy website that allows people to publish / post free complaints on its website about any experience (good or bad) that a person has had with any business or any individual. 3. It is believed that Xcentric Ventures / RipOff Report grosses around 15 million dollars a year, mostly through advertising revenue, and is worth approximately 45 million dollars. 4. Iowa has jurisdiction over Defendant for the following reasons: a. Defendants purposeful, internet-based conduct, which is described below, constitutes an attempt or conspiracy to commit an offense within the State of Iowa; b. Defendant intended for its below-described conduct to produce detrimental effects within Iowa, and said conduct did produce detrimental effects within Iowa; E-FILED 2014 AUG 06 10:38 AM SAC - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT # c. Defendants below-described conduct and connection with Iowa are such that Defendant should have reasonably anticipated being haled into an Iowa courtroom; and d. The injury giving rise to this action occurred within or had some connection to Iowa, meaning that Defendant purposely directed its activities at Iowa and this action arose out of or relates to those activities. 5. Defendant, through its owner(s), agents, representatives, and employees (collectively, Defendant), since September 2012, has been publishing defamatory, harassing complaints on its website, about the States witnesses in State v. Richter, Sac County District Court Case No. FECR011900. 6. Defendants complaints falsely and maliciously accuse the States witnesses of child molestation, having sexually transmitted diseases, fraudulent activities, sexual abuse, perjury, drug abuse, and murder. 7. Defendants complaints also target the friends, family, and associates (collectively, secondary victims) of the States witnesses in a similar manner, as well as the businesses, employers, and other pecuniary interests of the States witnesses and the secondary victims. 8. Defendant knew or should have known that the defamatory content contained in these complaints was false at the time they published them and / or continued to publish them after learning they were false. 9. Defendant published one of its complaints about the States witnesses on every one of its approximate 1.8 million webpages. 10. Defendant optimizes and engineers its complaints so that they appear at the top of the first page of Google and other search engine results, above or in lieu of legitimate search results for legitimate (non-defamatory) websites belonging to, or about the States witnesses and the ancillary victims. 11. Defendant has boasted that its website is sometimes viewed around 2 million times per day. 12. Defendants publication of these complaints was done without any legitimate purpose, with the intent to intent to intimidate, annoy, or alarm the States E-FILED 2014 AUG 06 10:38 AM SAC - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT $ witnesses, and in a manner likely to cause the States witnesses annoyance or harm. [Harassment, IOWA CODE 708.7 (2014)] 13. Defendant has published these complaints for the purpose of harassing and intimidating the States witnesses, in retaliation for their testimony or lawful participation in States investigation and prosecution in State v. Richter. [Witness Tampering, IOWA CODE 720.4 (2014)] 14. Defendant has published these false, defamatory complaints with the intent that they be used in Tracey Richters Post Conviction Relief Proceedings (Tracey Richter v. State of Iowa, Sac County District Court Case No. PCCV01955) [Obstructing Prosecution, IOWA CODE 719.3 (2014)] 15. The family and friends of convicted murderer Tracey Richter, the defendant in State v. Richter, have aided Defendant in its creation and publication of these defamatory complaints about the States witnesses. 16. Defendant has published these complaints about the States witnesses for financial gain. 17. Defendant has offered to investigate the veracity of these complaints (the same complaints Defendant authored and published), and remove and / or redact certain content from said complaints if the witnesses each pay RipOff Report $2,000 and present RipOff Report with evidence that proves the complaints RipOff Report published about them are false. [Extortion, IOWA CODE 711.4 (2014)] 18. Defendant extorted one of the States witnesses by offering to remove the complaints it published about the witness for $10,000. [Extortion, IOWA CODE 711.4 (2014)] 19. Defendants publication of these complaints have caused significant financial and emotional harms to the States witnesses. 20. The States witnesses have stated they would not have cooperated with law enforcement or testified in State v. Richter had they known their personal and professional lives would be targeted, damaged, and / or destroyed such that they have been by Defendant. WHEREFORE, the State of Iowa respectfully requests that the Court, following a hearing on the merits of the States application, issue a permanent injunction ordering Defendant to remove the names and images of the States witnesses and E-FILED 2014 AUG 06 10:38 AM SAC - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT % the secondary victims (NOT to include the removal of the undersigneds name or image), from its complaints that are related in any way to State v. Richter, and enjoin Defendant from re-publishing the same, and order such other reliefs equitable and just in the premises.
____________________________ Benjamin John Smith Sac County Attorney Sac County Courthouse 100 NW State St., Suite 9 Sac City IA 50583 Telephone: 712-662-4791 Facsimile: 712-662-4123 Email: attorney@saccounty.org
E-FILED 2014 AUG 06 10:38 AM SAC - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT 1 IN THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR SAC COUNTY STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff, v. XCENTRIC VENTURES (DBA WWW.RIPOFFREPORT.COM, D!f!n"ant. Ca#! N$. CVCV%&'()% ORDER SETTIN* HEARIN* ON STATE+S APP,ICATION FOR A CIVI, IN-UNCTION TO RESTRAIN HARASSMENT OR INTIMIDATION OF VICTIMS OR WITNESSES T.! .!a/in0 $n t.! Stat!+# A11li2ati$n f$/ Civil In34n2ti$n #.all 5! an" i# #2.!"4l!" f$/ S!1t!65!/ 7%, 8%&), at '9%% a.6., at t.! Sa2 C$4nt: C$4/t.$4#!, Sa2 Cit:, I$;a.
E-FILED 2014 AUG 07 11:27 AM SAC - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT State of Iowa Courts Type: ORDER SETTING HEARING Case Number Case Title CVCV019540 STATE OF IOWA VS. XCENTRIC VENTURES LLC So Ordered Electronically signed on 2014-08-07 11:27:35 page 2 of 2 E-FILED 2014 AUG 07 11:27 AM SAC - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT